A Canadian political role-playing sequence helps secondary students understand the workings of Parliament and clarify their own values. The issue under debate is abolition or retention of capital punishment. Article describes rationale, teacher's instructions, roles, related legislature, rules of Parliamentary debate, public opinion polls, news…

Suggestions are offered to distributive education teachers on how to effectively teach economic principles and concepts at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Suggestions are discussed in relation to three major challenges faced by the teacher: Developing appropriate instructional goals or objectives, organizing the subject matter content, and…

Describes a laboratory experiment for secondary school chemistry students utilizing the classic reaction between the iron(III) ion and the thiocyanate ion. The experiment also works very well in other chemistry courses as an experience in spectrophotometric analysis. (PVD)

Illustrates benefits of online class projects and describes different types of projects, including: collaborations, data collection or exchange, mentoring projects, vicarious adventures, and one-time-only events. Discusses where to find such projects and selection criteria, designing projects, and signs of success. (AEF)

Discusses effective ways of using children's journals in science teaching and methods for assessing children's journals for science learning. Emphasizes the importance of children's own cognitive and verbal efforts to make sense of science phenomena. (JRH)

Presents a simple exercise to demonstrate how initial property distribution can affect final wealth patterns in developing areas of the world. Employs a variant of the Monopoly board game. Engages students in role playing different members of a market where each faces different rules of credit access and salary patterns. (RLH)

Uses a task perspective to examine literature-based and skills-oriented approaches to literacy in second and sixth grade classes. Results confirm that the literature-based method encourages higher order thinking, whereas the skills-oriented method promotes performance of small, simple tasks. (DG)

Two aspects of instructional practice in mathematics are discussed: the process of developing instructional activities and the importance of engaging students in mathematical discussion. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards are evaluated based on this discussion. (CW)

Describes how poetry can be used with the different types of creative drama, including finger plays, pantomime and movement, Readers Theater, sensory awareness, storytelling, choral reading, action poems, role playing, and characterization. (MG)

Shares an account of efforts by a teacher to try and involve 7- to 11-year-old children in a book investigation which would provide them with investigative strategies applicable to subsequent works. (MG)

Discusses a managerial training course which uses concepts from literature to illustrate interpersonal attributes. Describes four activities to aid course participants in developing and applying managerial skills. (RS)

Points out that children have difficulty learning time concepts. Presents instructional activities for concepts associated with clocks, calendars, and chronology. Outlines Jerome Bruner's three different stages of representation for each concept: enactive, iconic, and symbolic. (DB)

Argues that as reading is taught increasingly as a tool, the delight that comes from personal literacy is becoming obscured. Argues that bringing personal values and experiences to poetry is an important way for students to discover the meaning of a poem. Describes how students can "map" their reading journey. (RS)

Results are reported from a survey of junior high mathematics teachers' (N=146) critical thinking beliefs. The study addressed two questions: Where do teachers stand regarding the teaching of critical thinking skills? and What teaching practices characterize a "belief in critical thinking" versus its opposite view? (IAH)

Discusses how reading comprehension can be improved, how reading fluency is positively affected, and how reading motivation is increased by using drama in the reading classroom. Presents eight practical ideas for incorporating drama into the classroom. (RS)